HOUSE PASSES WATER RESOURCES BILL

SEPTEMBER 2016

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(Posted Thu. Sep 29th, 2016)

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5303, the Water Resources and Development Act of 2016 (WRDA 2016), late Wednesday, by a vote of 399-25. The National Corn Growers Association thanks the House for making the bill a priority during the short September legislative session.

“Farmers and ranchers need to be able to get their products to market quickly and safely, and inland waterways are a critical part of that process for much of the country. The Water Resources Development Act helps maintain and modernize our inland waterways infrastructure and plays a vital role in moving corn to export markets,” said NCGA First Vice President Wesley Spurlock, a farmer from Stratford, Texas.

A main focus of the WRDA 2016 bill is clearing the backlog of projects at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It also provides more than $10 billion in funding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop, maintain and support the nation’s port and waterways infrastructures.

“We would like to thank Congressman Bob Gibbs of Ohio, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, for his leadership and continued support for our inland waterways system,” said Spurlock.

The next step for WRDA 2016 is a conference of the House and Senate bills, with a potential final bill ready to be signed by the President by the end of the year.